


All Time Lows

by Kittyswriting



Series: All Time Lows [1]
Category: Marvel 616, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Established Relationship, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, No Beta, Past Child Abuse, Steve just thinks Tony is a danger to himself no actual harming but I wanted to be on the safe side
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-12
Updated: 2015-05-12
Packaged: 2018-03-30 06:23:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3926215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kittyswriting/pseuds/Kittyswriting
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony grew up in a abusive household, but he put all that behind him. Now somehow that information has been leaked to the media. Can Steve catch Tony and help his boyfriend through this?</p>
            </blockquote>





	All Time Lows

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Yep it's me again, with another Stony one shot. Usual grammar warnings apply, I don't have the best grammar and I don't have a beta. This is not Howard friendly, and it's mostly going to be based on Iron Man: Legacy of Doom and the Marvel 616 continuity. If you haven't read the comics all you need to know is that Howard was physically and emotionally abusive to Tony throughout his life.  
> For the word prompt: child abuse.

Steve always considered himself lucky to know Howard Stark, the man was a genius and his friend. He helped Steve become who he was, and Steve always believed he was a good person. Which is why he couldn't understand the kind of father his once friend became. Tony never mentioned it much but the few times he did made Steve want to travel back in time just to hit the man he'd once called friend.

It got even more complicated when he and Tony started to date, because there was this beautiful, self-sacrificing, amazing man, who didn't believe Steve could ever love him because he was so broken.

Tony hadn't told anyone but him about what Howard did. Which was why he was shocked to see the media somehow get a wind of it, apparently they got it from a source and whoever this source was seemed to know more than Steve. He didn't want to believe it, didn't want it to be true. He knew about the emotional abuse and the neglect but Tony never said anything about Howard abusing him physically like the reporter suggested. He went down to Tony's lab as soon as he heard it. But when he got there he found he couldn't open the door. "Jarvis, why can't I open the doors?"

"I'm sorry Captain, I've been ordered not to let anyone in." Jarvis' electronic and vaguely British voice informed him.

Tony was the only person that could lockdown the lab, which he usually never did unless he wants to be isolated. "What's Tony's status report?"

"He seems visibly distressed, his vitals show an accelerated heart rate and blood pressure."

That wasn't good, Tony was clearly panicking. Tony had given Steve the authority to override the lockdown if he felt Tony was in immediate danger or there was trouble. However Steve's definition of danger and Tony's definition of danger were two very different things. "Jarvis override the lockdown." He didn't do it often, mostly because he respected Tony's need for privacy but this was different. If the report was true than Tony was too much of a danger to himself alone.

"Captain, he's not going to like that."

"I know, but....." I'm too scared to leave him alone. He couldn't say it, Tony had never hurt himself intentionally to Steve's knowledge but he didn't want to take any chances. He opened the lab doors and frowned when he saw Tony holding a bottle. His boyfriend had been six months sober, but the bottle looked unopened so maybe he still was.

"Did you know my dad gave me my first drink? I was just a kid, he thought it would make me more of a man. I didn't say no because I was a kid and I was scared." Tony sounded so defeated, so unlike his Tony. His boyfriend that never wavered.

"Tony...." He would give anything at that moment to be able to go back in time and beat Howard to a bloody pulp.

"My father got drunk and beat me, he told me every damn day how I was nothing to him but a disappointment. I was a failure, a worthless, useless failure." And with those few words Steve truly hated his once upon a time friend. He had never hated anyone more in that moment than Howard Stark.

Steve wanted to leave, to find something to punch until it broke. Imagine Howard's face on the punching bag and destroy it like he wished he could destroy Tony's father. But he didn't because Tony needed him, and that was the only damn thing that was strong enough to calm the rage he felt. Tony needed his love and affection. He'd find something to destroy later. He sat down next to Tony and gently removed the bottle. "Tony I need you to listen to me, do you think you can do that?" Steve asked waiting until Tony nodded to continue. "Your father wasn't a father. The minute he laid his hand against you he stopped being a father. He was a monster, and you deserved so much better baby. You're so strong Tony, not a day goes by that I don't feel blessed to have you in my life. I'm so sorry this happened." Steve said cradling Tony's face in his hands.

Tony broke down, he grabbed onto Steve and buried his face in his chest. He had held all these feelings in for years, all the abuse and neglect he kept bottled inside of him was suddenly exploding out of him he was falling and he was trusting Steve to catch him. And Steve would, he'd always catch Tony. He knew that this wasn't over by a long shot, they'd be nightmares and moments when he's going to lose his temper over everything Howard did. Howard may have been his friend a lifetime ago but this man in his arms was the most important thing in the world to him. "It's going to be okay, I promise baby."

Tony shook his head at that. "It's not Steve, this is....Everyone knows. This was my past and my life and now everyone knows...." Tony said tears falling down his face at the onslaught of memories that were hitting him.

"We'll fix it, just like we fix everything else." Steve said trying to sound confident but he knew that this wasn't something that was going to go away. He wasn't sure how this information even got to the public, surely Howard never did anything to Tony in front of other people? And even if he did why didn't they stop him? Tony was just a little boy, he needed someone to protect him.

"You can't fix this Steve, nobody can. Howard wasn't a father, he was a drunk that left more scars on me than any villain ever has. I accepted my past and kept it where it should always have been, in my past. But now it's out there, the Avengers, Coulson, Fury, everyone will know what he did to me, and they'll never look at me the same way. Because when people find out they never look at you as anything other than a victim." Tony's voice sounded so lost, Steve was starting to wonder if what he was saying was true.

"I can't speak for everyone else, but you are not a victim Tony. Not to me, to me you're a survivor. You are the strongest person I know, you've always been strong and Howard was nothing but an abusive ass. To me, you will always be Tony Stark: Survivor, Genius, and the man I am head over heels in love with. I know this is going to be hard but I'm here Tony every step of the way." Steve said proudly, before leaning forward to kiss Tony, happy when he noticed the tiniest of smiles on his boyfriend's face.

"I can't make this disappear baby. I wish to god I could but I can't, I wish I could have protected you. But you survived, you are the most incredible man I know. I can't make the outside world disappear forever, but for the rest of the day we can stay here. I'll hold you and we can talk or just lay here and everyone else can just go away." Steve said his arms were wrapped around Tony in a protective hold.

They stayed like that for several hours, Steve holding Tony. Consoling his lover and doing everything he could to be there for him. This was only the first hurdle, they had so many more left and when Steve was beginning to wonder how they were going to be able to cope. But he knew they had to, he wasn't ever going to let Tony fall.


End file.
